


Office Surprise

by Kalcifer



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Corporate, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:42:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22474306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalcifer/pseuds/Kalcifer
Summary: Dimitri has a meeting with the CEO of Leicester LLC, and that's the only thing on his mind. He's definitely not thinking about Claude's beautiful secretary.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 10
Kudos: 74





	Office Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chivalrousamour](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chivalrousamour/gifts).



> Happy birthday, on the actual day of your birth for once in our friendship! Having given you both a fic tagged "Fluff and Angst" and one tagged "Fluff and Humor", here is fluff in its purest form, and for a ship that has more than ten fics written by other people for once. Look how far we've both come.

Dimitri was the only one in the elevator, which gave him the opportunity to check over his appearance one more time before he arrived. For business reasons, of course. He had to make sure he made a good impression on Claude. That was always the first thing on his mind when he visited Leicester LLC, because he was the CEO of Faerghus Inc and so had to put his duties to the company over all else.

The elevator doors opened with a ding, startling him out of his thoughts. Which was silly, because this was strictly business, and there was no reason for him to be lost in thought in the first place. He was arriving half an hour early because he liked to be punctual. He’d told his board of directors as much.

He made his way to Claude’s office more or less on autopilot. He had no reason to be nervous. He and Claude had been working together for years.

He rounded the corner and saw Claude’s office, easily distinguished by the bright pink hair of his secretary, Hilda. Dimitri’s heart beat a little faster. It would be ridiculous to come all this way in the middle of a work day just to see her, of course, but when he was here anyway, it was only polite to say hello. So that’s what he did. “Hello, Hilda.”

“Oh, Dimitri, hi!” She frowned at her computer screen. “Hm… You’re a little early. I think Claude is out right now. Do you want to come back later?”

“I’ll wait here, if that’s all right with you.” Dimitri shifted his weight awkwardly. He hoped that wouldn’t seem intrusive.

“Of course it’s okay,” Hilda said brightly. “I’ve been sitting here bored all day, so really, you’ll be doing me a favor.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help.” Dimitri went to sit in one of the chairs across the room, then immediately regretted it. He couldn’t hold a conversation from over here. He squeezed the handle of his briefcase, wondering if it would look strange if he moved now.

“Hey,” Hilda said. “Bring your chair over here so I can do your nails.”

Dimitri blinked at her. “I… pardon?”

She shrugged. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but like I said, I’m bored, and I’ve got a shade of blue that I think would look super cute on you.”

Dimitri hadn’t had his nails painted in years, not since Annette’s father would meet with Dimitri’s and leave the children to their own devices, but this did seem like a good way to accomplish his own goal of getting closer to Hilda. “That’s very generous. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” She pulled open one of the drawers in her desk, considered an intimidating wall of nail polish, and pulled out the promised blue. “Okay, hand on the desk.”

“You don’t want to put anything down under it?” he asked cautiously.

“Nah, I’m a pro, I’m not going to make a mess.” She shook the bottle, giving him an expectant look.

He wasn’t entirely convinced, not because he doubted her skills but because he didn’t trust himself not to move at the wrong moment. He didn’t want to argue, though, so he set his hand on the desk’s surface, fingers splayed.

She bent over it and began to paint. It occurred to Dimitri rather belatedly how close this brought their faces. He could see exactly how bright her eyes were, the way she stuck out the tip of her tongue in concentration. He felt heat rise to his cheeks. He shouldn’t stare at someone’s face like this, no matter how attractive they might be.

Not that he was calling Hilda attractive. He wasn’t saying she was unattractive, of course, it was just that she was a professional, and so was he, and he needed something else to focus on right now. “Your earrings look nice,” he said.

“Thanks!” She didn’t look up from his hands, but he could see that she was smiling. “I actually made them myself. I need something to keep myself from dying of boredom over here.”

“Really!” He looked at he earrings again. Now that he was paying attention, he could see that the beadwork had been done by hand, but that only made its intricacy and detail more impressive. “These are beautiful. You could sell them, I’m quite certain.”

“Yeah, but that would be a lot of work, and I’m happy with my job as it is.” She gave half a shrug. ”Besides, this way I can say they’re exclusive.”

“Well, you wear them better than anyone else could hope to.” Dimitri froze as soon as he realized what he’d said. He believed it, but that didn’t make it any less inappropriate in a work setting.

Hilda paused in the middle of a brushstroke, but she started up again before Dimitri could find words. “Wow, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I’m so sorry,” Dimitri blurted.

“Don’t be.” Hilda sounded unconcerned, maybe even playful. “I’m not going to complain about a handsome guy like you flirting with me a little.”

Dimitri made a strangled noise. It was only fair for her to compliment his appearance in turn, he supposed, but that didn’t mean he’d been prepared for it. “I… see?” he said, voice strained.

Hilda ignored his bewilderment. “Okay, give me your other hand.”

He set his hand on the desk automatically.

She met his eyes as she dipped the brush back in the bottle. “Anyway, what about you? Got any crafts you like, or interesting hobbies or anything?”

“Nothing exciting, I’m afraid. Most of my time goes into the company.” Dimitri knew that people found that boring or stuffy, but he couldn’t ignore his responsibilities, no matter how disappointing a conversationalist that might make him.

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Hilda said. Dimitri braced himself for the mockery. Instead, though, she continued, “You need to take some time for yourself too, you know. You can’t do your best for anyone without it.”

Dimitri bit his lip. “Perhaps, but it isn’t as simple as you make it sound. I owe them so much. I don’t want to let them down.”

Hilda sighed. “Yeah, I get that. Still, you can’t be working all the time. No one will be disappointed just because you have a life outside of them. And if they are, they don’t deserve you in the first place.”

“I don’t know… I don’t think I’m well suited to relaxation.” He hadn’t bothered with hobbies in so long, and he didn’t know if he could pick them up again anymore. They might just serve as frustrating reminders of a simpler time.

“There’s no such thing,” Hilda said. “Everyone needs to relax, you just have to figure out the right way to do it.” She picked up his hand and inspected it, then shoved it at him. “I mean, you did fine sitting here and chatting, and that was plenty relaxing, right?”

Dimitri didn’t think about how soft and cool her hands had been against his. He intensely didn’t think about it. “Er…. Yes, I suppose I did.”

“You see? You’re a natural.” Hilda put the bottle back in its drawer, closing it with a decisive shove.

Dimitri was still trying to think of a suitable response when Claude walked out of his office. “Hey, Hilda, do you think we have time to…” He trailed off as he saw Dimitri. “Nevermind. Hello, sorry to keep you waiting.”

Dimitri glanced between Hilda and Claude. “Ah, hello. I’m sorry, Hilda told me you weren’t in.”

“Did I? Whoops,” Hilda said, sounding entirely unapologetic. “Must have read something wrong.”

“Really.” Claude leveled a look at her. She smiled sweetly, apparently oblivious to his scrutiny.

Claude finally gave up and turned to Dimitri. “Well, there’s no point in making you wait out here now that we know what’s happened. Come on in.”

“Right. Thank you.” Dimitri bent down to pick up his briefcase.

“Oh, hey, I don’t think I’ve seen you in nail polish before,” Claude said. “It looks good.”

“Thank you,” Dimitri said, willing himself not to blush.

His composure failed when Hilda said, “Be careful with your hands for the next 15 minutes, okay? And come visit me when you’re done in there, I’ll give you a top coat.”

“Y-yes, thank you,” Dimitri said yet again. It would be nice if he could think of any other words, but if Hilda kept knocking him off balance like this, it didn’t seem likely. At least he had formalities to fall back on. He turned to Claude, hoping to maintain a modicum of dignity. “Shall we?”

“Of course,” Claude agreed. He stepped back into his office.

Dimitri made to follow him, only to be stopped by a sudden movement from Hilda. “Is there something I can do for you?” he asked.

She kissed him on the cheek. It was a quick gesture, barely more than a brush of her lips against his skin. It felt almost like a burn, though there was no pain. Just the sudden and intense awareness of a single patch of skin, overriding all thoughts with its strange urgency.

He opened his mouth, but what came out could only be described as a squeak. He didn’t even know what he’d been trying to say.

Hilda smiled, but Dimitri could see the nervousness behind it. “For good luck, okay?”

Dimitri nodded, still not trusting his vocal chords. He flashed a smile, a little shakier than he’d meant it to be, before marching into Claude’s office and falling into a chair.

Claude raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

Dimitri reached for his voice and was relieved to find it still there, if a little more distant than he’d hoped. “Yes, I… I may have to take a moment to regain my composure before we begin. Forgive me.”

“Take all the time you need,” Claude said, doing a commendable job of fighting down a laugh.

Dimitri buried his face in his hands. This was a business meeting. He needed to focus, so that he could do his job.

All he could think about were Hilda’s eyes, bright and playful.


End file.
